Action heroines in history

Who doesn't love tough heroines like Furiosa in Mad Max?  Believe it or not, though, 100 years ago women didn't have to fight for screen time.  Tough heroines had their own stories and were celebrated in their own rights.

The Forgotten Female Action Stars of the 1910s

For anyone who likes strong heroines and history, you don't have to choose one or the other.

Despite our modern notions of Victorian and Edwardian times being very limiting for women, ladies a century ago still liked to see brave heroines who were the stars of their own action-adventures.  Of course, these were mostly serial films.  Full-length features still starred mostly men.  And unfortunately, as serial films fell out of favor after World War I, so did the action herione:

But by 1919, after the war had ended and women had won the vote, serials and their female stars faded from popularity. The action heroine didn’t really make the transition to features. Or if she did, then as now, it was only in sporadic titles.

It's an exciting time, though, and inspiration for those of us who like to write about that era.  I think Ruby would fit right in with Pauline and her perils, don't you?